Real Estate Tycoon and Multimillionaire Jamie Rand Purchases Two Atlantic Racecars

.... with Aspirations of Running 2009 Atlantic Championship


Tampa real estate tycoon and multimillionaire Jamie Rand today announced that he has purchased the entire inventory from an undisclosed race team with an eye toward competing in the 2009 Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda.

Rand’s purchase includes two complete Atlantic racecars and all the spares needed to field a two-car effort in the 12-race 2009 Atlantic Championship, which gets underway on March 20 at Sebring International Raceway.

Rand has partnered with Chris Hall in this new venture. The UK-born Hall has competed as a professional racecar driver for more than 25 years and is currently driving in the American Le Mans Series. He owns five championships in competition in the UK and in the United States, and has finished on the podium more than 200 times in his career.

Rand and Hall determined that the time was right to enter the Atlantic Championship, given the series’ recent announcement that $3 million in purse and prize money. The 2009 Atlantic awards package features a $1 million prize for the series champion and $130,000 in purses for every race weekend.

“(Atlantic Championship President) Ben Johnston’s commitment this year means a lot to me and for that reason there is no better place to run this year than in the Atlantic Championship,” said Rand.  “With the largest prize money in North America for open-wheel racing, I have been getting many phone calls. I’ve been in heavy discussions with some of the hottest drivers and several major corporations for sponsorship, including publicly-traded companies.”

Rand and Hall are currently in talks with several other teams and drivers to find the best “win-win-scenario. They hope announce their 2009 driver lineup shortly.


- Nate Siebens-